4 THE QUEENS COURIER • APRIL 23, 2020 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
сoronavirus
Astoria’s Shore Boulevard temporarily closed to vehicular traffi c
Good deed
While they weren’t going to be able
to see their nephews or spend Easter
with their parents due to social distancing,
the Scanlon sisters wanted
to save the holiday with an act of
kindness.
Kristin and Kaylin Scanlon are realtors
in New York and had an Easter
costume they bought last year to wear
at one of their open houses. Looking
for a way to give back during the pandemic,
the sisters visited Brooklyn,
Queens and Long Island, where they
waved to more than 75 families from
afar to bring joy.
“Being out yesterday made me
feel like I was the kid on Christmas
morning seeing all the children excited
and just so
happy to see
us,” Kristin
said. “I literally
cried
tears of
joy the
whole
w a y
home.
Group homes fi nd little help as they scramble for more medical supplies
BY BEN VERDE
Brooklyn Paper
Due to an oversight from
the state government, group
homes for the developmentally
disabled are now forced to fend
for themselves as they try to
buy much-needed protective
medical equipment — which
are in short supply and rising
in cost amid the novel coronavirus,
according to disability
advocates.
Facilities that care for the
developmentally disabled are
not listed as priority recipients
of personal protective equipment
under state guidelines,
which only prioritize hospitals,
EMS operators, nursing
homes, and dialysis centers.
Th is oversight leaves these
homes scrambling to fi nd medical
supplies, such as face masks
and rubber gloves. Th e lack of
regulatory help from the state
has forced fi nancially well-off
group homes to compete on the
open market for supplies, while
less cash-fl ush facilities have
been forced to rely on donations
and handmade replacements
— rather than allocating
resources based on need,
according to advocates.
“What should happen is that
it is not based on the fi nancial
resources, but it is based upon
the actual need of the particular
facility throughout the state,
so that those that need the PPE
get it,” said Tim Clune, the
executive director of Disability
Rights New York (DRNY). “All
of these congregate-care facilities
must have the necessary
protective gear to prevent the
spread of COVID-19.”
DRNY fi led a formal complaint
on April 9 with the
United States Department of
Health and Human Services
against Governor Andrew
Cuomo for failure to prioritize
group homes and other congregate
care settings as priority
recipients of protective equipment
— but that has yet to
yield positive results.
Group home operators have
faced intense competition and
exorbitant prices in their pursuit
of personal protective
equipment, and have begun
joining forces with other care
providers in the region to pool
the necessary cash and have a
unifi ed voice on the market.
Janet Koch, the head of Life’s
Worc, which operates group
homes for the developmentally
disabled throughout New
York City and Long Island, said
she and a cadre of other group
homes on Long Island pooled
together $30,000 each at the
start of the pandemic through
a “providers alliance” to buy
protective medical supplies
— allowing them to scoop up
the equipment before it was all
bought up.
“We were ahead of the curve
for sure, we got in right in the
beginning,” said Koch.
Other homes are still scrambling
to stock up on protective
supplies with no end of the
pandemic in sight — and the
market for more masks, gloves
and other supplies is bare.
Some group homes have put
up huge sums of money just to
be entered into the running for
receiving the life-saving supplies,
without any guarantee
they would even receive it.
Aft er $2.6 billion in budget
cuts over the last 10 years,
and the drawn-out delay of
a yearly three percent cost of
living funding increase from
the state, this is no small feat
for most homes — but with
lives on the line they have little
choice, said Koch.
“If you have nothing, or
here’s a chance, suddenly that
risk becomes life or death,” she
said. “Even if you’re a nonprofit,
you fi nd that money and
you do it.”
For their part, Clune and
his fellow advocates at NYDA
argue that a change in policy to
prioritize group homes would
help facilitate supply allocation
more than an uptick in funding
— and they’re continuing
to push for a change in the
state’s priorities.
BY ANGÉLICA ACEVEDO
aacevedo@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Shore Boulevard in Astoria will be
closed to traffi c until further notice as of
Th ursday, April 16, but will be open to
pedestrians and cyclists.
Th e news comes shortly aft er the adjacent
Astoria Park closed its skate park
and adult fi tness area when 114th Precinct
observed social distancing guidance
weren’t being followed. Prior to the closure,
the Astoria Park Alliance sent a letter
asking the Department of Parks and
Recreation, Department of Transportation
(DOT), and the 114th Precinct to work
together to “impose a temporary extension
of the ‘no standing’ rule” so that its
enforcement begins at 7 p.m. instead of
the customary midnight to 6 a.m.
“To be clear, we believe in the essential
function of the New York City Parks as a
cherished public space for New Yorkers
during this crisis,” the Park Alliance wrote
in the letter. “We wish to support the safe
use of our neighborhood’s jewel to keep us
all healthy and stop the spread of COVID-
19. Astoria Park’s 60 acres provide ample
room to maintain social distancing while
getting the exercise and mental health
reprieve that we all need right now. Yet,
we believe there is a time to take action to
save lives and that time is now.”
Th e 114th Precinct then made the fi nal
decision to temporarily close the street.
Requests to the 114th Precinct for comment
went unanswered.
Councilman Costa Constantinides
also previously asked the DOT to assess
whether Shore Boulevard could close
to allow more space for pedestrians.
Th e Astoria native also called for the
Parks Department to boost up the Parks
Enforcement Patrol (PEP) around Astoria
Park to ensure COVID-19 social distancing
guidelines are practiced.
According to a Parks Department
spokesperson, the city increased the presence
of NYPD, PEP offi cers and Urban
Park Rangers to enforce social distancing
in parks in early March.
“Our PEP and Rangers are actively
patrolling parks citywide to educate park
patrons about social distancing, coordinating
with the NYPD on any sites
that are experiencing overcrowding and
taking enforcement action as needed,”
the Parks Department spokesperson said.
“Additionally, we have deployed over 200
public program staff across the fi ve boroughs
to act as Parks Ambassadors to
assist in this eff ort.”
The Old Astoria Neighborhood
Association (OANA) agrees there should
be more PEP enforcement and the closure
of Shore Boulevard is a necessary safety
measure during COVID-19. But they ask
the closure to be temporary, as they say it
off ers access to the waterfront for disabled
residents, seniors and service vehicles.
“Shore Boulevard has been an issue
regarding noise and rowdy behavior
for the last 40 years,” OANA’s President
Richard Khuzami wrote. “Closures were
tried in the past, and it just led to the party
moving to residential streets around the
park and also the park’s parking lot. Th is
caused even worse disruption to the quality
of life of local residents.”
OANA noted parking on Shore
Boulevard is also temporarily closed,
according to the 114th Precinct.
“Parks are essential at this time, but visitors
must use their common sense — we
continue to strongly urge all New Yorkers
to maintain six feet of distance between
each other. Please do not overcrowd each
other, there is space for everyone,” said the
Parks Department spokesperson.
NYC Parks closed all skateparks, volleyball
courts, handball, tennis courts, dog
runs, bocce courts and playgrounds in
order to maintain social distancing.
Photo courtesy of Old Astoria Neighborhood Association
Courtesy of Life’s Worc
Staff ers at Life’s Worc, which operates group homes for the developmentally
disabled, taking precautions.
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